my car was just broken into...

so i just come home from work to find flashlights shining into my brand new car i've had less than 2 weeks. turns out some kids went up the block "popping" cars, and taking them. i am now one GPS and 80g ipod classic short. they left my coupon book, and my kids toys. thankfully the car wasn't damaged.

i feel so violated. and angry, and confused.
how are people that desperate, that they want to cause misfortune on other people. i just don't understand. if you really need/want something that bad, just ask me. what freaks me out even more is that less than 20 feet away my wife (who i just found out is preg with numero tres) and my 2 kiddos were sleeping inside.
now there are cops driving up and down the street, i can't sleep. and i'm telling this bizzare story to complete strangers because i don't know what else to do. so now what do i do? i gave the cops my information, but i highly doubt i'm going to get either item back. i'd like to be optimistic about the whole thing, do i file this as theft with my auto insurance?...i'm really just in shock.
fuck fuck fuckity fuck fuck.

 

When I lived in Toronto, I had my car broken into a few times. The worst time happened just after I'd packed the car for a trip to the cottage. It was around 4:30 AM and they must have been watching me pack the car. I went into the house to have a coffee and then wake the kids. By the time I came out, about 15 minutes later, the front seat was empty: they got- my new laptop, all of my good CDs, brand new Persol sunglasses, and a few other items... all conveniently packaged in a knapsack. Total snatch and grab.

Each time my car was broken into felt the same... totally violated. My insurance covered the loss and the police came and took the report but I never saw my stuff again.

It really sucks but just be thankful that it was just stuff they took. Stuff can be replaced.

 

Unless you have a low deductible, you may be out of luck. Few years back some assholes went around shooting out car windows in my neighborhood. My deductible ended up being higher than the cost of the repair.

 

yeah i've got a 50 dollar deductable, and again, no damage to the car, just got done talking to the cops again. they're still on my street. i was actually able to find the serial numbers of my gps and ipod thankfully. apparently all 3 kids were apprehended. and it's just a matter of finding the items they took.
all in all it sucks that yes the stuff was taken, and i agree charlatan, that it can be replaced, it's just a lack of faith in humanity. it makes me sad.

 

It's that lack of faith in humanity that stings the most. I agree.

 

EMMDUBS

I am so SO sorry

And I've got nothing to say about what you may or may not get back or how to do that. I'm sure there ARE people who can do that, and also, that you won't make things much better or worse by taking some time to sit back a moment.

From your writing, it is clear that you are in shock, aware of how close it was to your vulnerable loved ones, and how it knocks the bottom out of your sense of safety in the world.

You have STATED that you are in shock. Which means you are a together guy going through something horrible. You know dang well where you are at. And it ain't nice.

Now the following thoughts won't stop your shock ... actually, some time has passed since, so you might be coming out of the initial phase by now.

Listen: In this rotten world ... this world where this rotten thing happened ... you did not meet just the car ... the Police were there. [I assume that's what you meant by flashlights beaming in your car] The Police had arrived too late BUT were there to meet you.
I'll assume the 'casual' burglars are more likely to pop cars than do home invasions.
I bet you are doing to use the horror of today to energetically examine your house and fix any security leaks you find, yes?

I bet you felt so good when you first put your hands on the wheel of your new car. It feels different now. Both thieves And Police poking their awareness into your vehicle. And I am so sorry. Now, seriously, before you drive it again, give it a Good Clean ... and know that you are washing away more than just physical dirt. If you are a very religious person, then go ahead and get a priest to bless it. If you have personal rituals for 'purifying' ... apply them.

You're telling strangers. Yes. A different class of strangers from the ones who popped your car. And, I expect, different from the ones shining the torches. Your world includes loads of people like us as well as like them.

----------------

Emmdubs ... If you find the following bit of any use to you, then good ... and if not, then delete it from your mind, with my apologies, and attend only to what I wrote above. Here goes.

Hmmmmm .... I was going to do a separate thread to tell the following: I've just spend the last three hours OUTSIDE my apartment .... stark nekkid apart from a flap-open grey fleece wrap and sox. Smelling like an all-night forum poster, and ... er ... designer stubble. By a process of elimination, begging, thanking, and sheer luck, I am now back in my home. But Everyone has seen me in my UNSeeable state ... and I didn't know that I wasn't going to spend the Entire Day ... flapping in ill-fitting fleece.

I'm not telling you this so "Hey, bro so YOU think you've had it bad" or "I know you feel because LISTEN TO ME AND MY STORY"
I'm telling you in the hope that a Stranger's Example of how stuff can get bloody bad, in England, at almost precisely the same time, and then kind of resolve, though leaving some scars, which will heal ... though we don't bloody now how, yet ... and you'll commit to making the security of your home solid, and I will make sure to have a SPARE set of keys hidden somewhere very secure ... where only I and my loved ones can find them.

And very likely, shit will happen to both of us in the future ... but even now, we know we'll have done some damage limitation.

Take care, and I hope you are reading this after, at last, getting some of the sleep you need and deserve.

 

good morning all.
zen, first of all, thank you for the detailed post. it was great to read this morning. also glad to hear you made it back inside. now a follow up. since i've had some time to sleep everything off.
the wife wasn't as nearly as upset as i thought she was going to be. as char said, "it's just stuff". the cops were a huge help, and were there immediately, i gained a lot more respect for my local law enforcement (not that i didn't respect them before) but they kept me updated as best as they could with what they had. i did follow up and it looks like the items were not recovered. again however, the vehicle isn't damaged so insurance couldn't be much help with the items.
all in all a life lesson learned. i'll have to be more careful with everything from now on.

i'd like to thank you guys for at least reading me out while i found a way to vent. i also appreciate the responses, and well wishes.

 

never leave anything that is valuable or looks valuable in your car. Also if you are in a neighborhood with repeated break-ins it is often a good idea to leave the car door unlocked so you don't have to buy a new window all the time.

 

I'm sorry you had that ordeal.
In the 1970s I enjoyed collecting good tools for working on a car...till they were taken from the car trunk. I stopped buying car tools.
Here in Amsterdam I've had two scooters stolen. To add to the pain the second one was slowly being stripped.
I'd go to use it and find more missing. That is truly awful. Of course I've had bikes stolen too.

Hope you get your property back!

 

Rekna - my neighborhood is in a relatively good area, next to a school/fire dept. etc. suburbs, not city, mostly old people dying and new young families coming in to buy their first starter home. the same thing happened on the streets around here last year, and the year before i believe around the same time. just a couple of punk kids, with nothing better to do, with the common courtesy to not actually "break" into the vehicles as much as it is looking for an easy opportunity...
flat5 - sorry to hear about your scooters, that's gotta be awful to come out one morning and have a mirror gone, then the next morning a tail light etc. i prob. won't get the property back, so not that big of a deal, it was just an ipod and nav system. considering it could've been my wallet or worse, them actually breaking the car, i'll take it for what it is.

 

Hi, Emmdubbs
Sounds like some of the dust is settling and you are feeling a bit better.
Sorry about the stuff not being likely to be recovered.
Best wishes

 

I hear about this stuff all the time and it makes me angry that people can't leave other people hard earned stuff alone. The worst is when I hear about a classic car and trailer being stolen.

 

I know how you feel. My car is being repaired at the dealership right now. Mine was broken into at the f*cking parking garage I pay $130 to park at. Smashed out the window, damaged the door frame, damaged the door panel, ripped a seat, scratched the roof, and stole a GPS. The worst part is that if it was JUST the GPS and window, I wouldn't care so much. But no, he had to fuck it up beyond all comprehension, from point blank range.

 

Hi again, emmdubbs

Just checking in ... bit more distance from the event .. things OK?

 

hey zen- actually things are great...
i came into work tonight to find out from a drawing of 300 or so employees that had to work on sunday, that my name was drawn to win an xbox-360 w/ kinect package. SCORE. i actually already have a xbox so i'm going to weigh my options and see if i can't return the free 360 and exchange it for a new mp3 player and gps unit.

@bear - now that really stinks, let me guess, the garage isn't to be held liable for any damages/thefts/etc? from the description, it sounds like a deer may have gotten lost, and really needed that gps to find it's way home, and not having oposeable thumbs, did the best it could to make sure it could be reunited with it's family.

 

Yep, not liable. Oh, but they checked the video. Where does the video point? At the entry gate of course. NOT at any of the decks or stairwells. So unless the burglars decide to wait in line and pull a ticket when they walk in to steal your stuff, you're SOL.

The WORST part of it? They just took back my 2011 Cadillac DTS rental car and gave me my shitbox back

 

another update for those of you following at home. i was able to exchange back the 360, in turn i got a new 8g nano, and an updated garmin gps unit. with still around 170 to spare on a gift card...

funny how things work out.

 

Glad to see it endedwell. I've had a number of cars broken into, it always sucks.

 

There was just arash of car breakins in my neighborhood. Second time in as many years. No one has been caught, nothing has been found. My friends and neighbors were affected since most have a car or two parked in the driveway. Fortunately I had cleaned out my side of the garage and my car was inside that night.